June 1 was
a very special day on the Santa Ana College campus. Several major
events took place, including the Alumni Hall of Fame Awards and our
annual Commencement ceremony. The Alumni Hall of Fame Awards
recognized four exceptional individuals for their professional and
personal achievements. At Commencement, over 6,000 attendees saluted
some 500 graduates as they move on to success in their professional
careers or additional college endeavors.

Alumni Hall of Fame
Honorees for 2007 were Dr. Jeff Armstrong, biologist and
environmentalist; Ken Ulrich, construction engineer and
humanitarian; Dennis Farrell, NCAA Big West Conference commissioner;
and Rolf Engen, a world-class athlete and entrepreneur. Each year,
the Alumni Hall of Fame offers people attending Commencement day an
opportunity to also acknowledge the accomplishments of exemplary
graduates of the college who have built on their experience at Santa
Ana College.

Commencement, held at Eddie West Field,
featured U.S. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez as keynote speaker.
Sanchez related her personal experiences and successes as an
illustration of the importance of education and hard work as a role
model for the graduates. Other speakers included distinguished SAC
faculty member Kathy Patterson, professor of humanities and social
sciences.

Student awards, voted by their peers, included the
Hammond Award (named for former SAC President Dana King Hammond) for
outstanding service by a male student went to Jose Vaca, Jr. and the
Northcross Award (named for former SAC Dean of Women Eleanor
Northcross) in recognition of outstanding service by a female
student went to Lizbeth Lopez. The 2007 Distinguished Faculty Award,
as voted by both students and faculty, went to business professor
Glenn Doolittle.

After struggling a bit as a freshman at Cal State Fullerton,
Doug Davert made the switch to Santa Ana College and found his route
to success as a political science and legal major. He has since gone
on to a very successful career as an attorney with a strong
commitment to community involvement.